I  had a chance to sit down with another president — Bill Clinton. When I walked into his Harlem office, Bill said, “Hey, man, how are you doing?” It was like we were old pals!

The former commander in chief was in great spirits. He always seems to be in storytelling mode if you can spark his interest. He’s very aware, very warm, very jovial and very genuine, all at the same time.

We had actually met before, in 2008 at the MTV/ Clinton Global Initiative event at the Apollo along with Shakira, Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and Bono. This time, the purpose of the interview was to talk about a film that MTV made about “Real World” star Pedro Zamora and his courageous fight to make the world more aware of HIV and AIDS.

We also had an opportunity to talk about the collaborations at this year’s Grammys. He mentioned the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder’s performance, which he thought was an odd but successful pairing. He especially liked that Stevie was in “good voice” that night. He also told us about how Stevie played for him and Hillary and that he has a picture of it. He said he enjoyed Coldplay and Jay-Z but also thought Al Green, who is a good friend of his, and Justin Timberlake had a magical performance.

He had great advice on how the Obama family can deal with being celebrities. He said America should not begrudge President Obama or Michelle when they are taking time out for their children, because that is the kind of balance that makes you an even better president.